Water-wheel



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W. M. WHEELER, OF UPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATER-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,280, dated July 17, 1 855.

To all whom fitvmay concern:

Be it known that I, VILLARD M. WHEELER, of Upton, in the county ofIVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in VaterVheels; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and eXact description of the construction andoperat-ion of t-he same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

To construct a wheel with my improvements I make the body of the wheelwith the rims to support the buckets solid and firm, the rims havingspaces A A for the buckets to play in and the parts B, B, made thickenough to sustain the buckets with the pressure of the water on them.The buckets C, C, I make curved, so as to t on to the body of the wheelwhen closed, as at D, D, and hang them by pivots E, E, at one edge, soas to swing in the spaces A A,'the pivots havinga bearing in the rimsand on one side of the wheel passing through the rim and are tted toreceive the arms F, F, which are so arranged as to close t-he bucketwhen pressed or moved toward the center or shaft of the wheel orfriction rolls at their outer ends G, Gr. Around these pulleys I placean endless chain or band which I make just long enough to allow thebuckets receiving the action of the water in the flume to be open andhold the others all or nearly all closed. Under the arms F, F, I placethe springs L, L, to partially open the buckets as they enter the flumeM, which I make after most any of the usual methods, fitting thesidesand bottom to the rims extending the bottom under the lowest part of thewheel. To the u per part of the ume I attach the guard fitting downbetween the rims to the body of the wheel and having a lip extending upover the wheel rathermore than the width of the bucket in t-he guard O.I iit the slides S, S, with a spring x to press them out against therims to keepa tight joint. These slides S, S, are made large enough tocover one of the spaces A A at each side and prevent the water risingaround and over the guard O. The rest of the wheel and adjacent partswill be varied according to circumstances of place and work and are onthat account not further described.

The operation is as follows: The buckets after passing the guard O areopened a little by the springs L. The water catches in the bucket,throwing it clear open, which action closes the bucket that has justpassed out of the flume and rising out of the water preventing all liftof the water or in case of back water leaving the wheel perfectly freeto run, and in some cases I place the bucket entirely under the surfaceof the water, thus using every inch of the fall of the best advantage.

IVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. Iclaim closing the buckets by means of the band or chain in connectionwith the arms and springs operating as described.

2. I claim the guard with its slides operating in the manner and for thepurposes above described or any other substantially the same.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

L. R. Rockwool), JAS. G. ARNOLD.

